


Mike/Will/Eleven Drabbles

by AnxiousBich



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Bisexual Mike Wheeler, Drabbles, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gay Will Byers, M/M, Multi, Nonbinary Eleven, Polyamory, Triad - Freeform, romantic Will/Eleven
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-29
Updated: 2018-03-29
Packaged: 2019-04-14 08:28:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14132133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnxiousBich/pseuds/AnxiousBich
Summary: Like the title says! Cute one-shot drabbles of Mike/Will/Eleven!





	1. Movie Night

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Imagine your OT3 all trying to sit on a two-seater sofa at once to watch a film, and one of them eventually giving up and just lying across the laps of the other two.  
> Original Source: http://imagineyourot3.tumblr.com
> 
> Note: You could view this as platonic Will/Eleven, but I do not. I am still 100% about gay Will but I also headcanon Eleven as nonbinary (Didn’t really have a chance to expand on that in this lil thing, just thought I’d put that out there.) I didn't use they/them pronouns because 1) that's not a requirement to being nonbinary but 2) I was thinking in terms of level of knowledge in the 80s

                Will has been downplaying how much it’s been hurting him to watch his boyfriend and girlfriend be affectionate with one another while Will has been forced to act unaffected. It wasn’t a new act for him, but it had been somehow easier when he had been sure his feelings could only ever be one sided. At least as friends he’d known where he stood and he was fine being a good friend to them, a best friend.

                Once they had gotten together, Will was left with a warring sense of happiness, dread, and _longing_. More longing than when he’d pined from afar. Watching them hold hands and kiss and flirt in public while Will was forced to constantly keep himself in check, even more than when he was simply hiding more than platonic feelings, terrified he’d give them away, and it started to _hurt_. It was so different knowing what it was like to be a part of that but only able to receive such affections when they were alone together, a rarity that could be counted on one hand. It left him insecure and his heart aching, unable to stop himself from imagining the two only agreeing to let him into the relationship out of pity or their instinctual need to protect him.

                But apparently he hadn’t been as subtle as he had thought or… maybe he really wasn’t the only one affected by their forced distance. One day while Will, Mike, and Dustin had been scouring the aisles of their local comic book store, Mike had stepped up next to Will and pretended to search through a box of comics while Will had quietly scanned a comic he couldn’t afford. He had looked over at Mike and gave him a soft smile. Mike not so subtly checked over his shoulder for Dustin who had been futilely bartering with the bored cashier. Will frowned in confusion and Mike leaned in close, warm breath fanning over Will’s skin and sent blood rushing to his cheeks and his palms had grown sweaty. Will had no idea what to expect, but he definitely didn’t expect Mike to say, in a quiet shaky voice, “I think we should tell the Party about us.”

                Will had stared at Mike with wide eyes and instinctively checked over his shoulder, but found no one close enough to overhear them. “ _What?_ ” Will asked in disbelief. Will isn’t sure if it had been excitement or terror that had sent his heart racing at the time. Mike’s fingers had clenched where they rested on the lined up comics, crinkling the plastic slip of one of them and his eyes settled on where Will’s hands were clutching the comic he’d been reading to his chest. Mike’s brows had bowed and his gaze had been so intense it could have set Will’s hands on fire. Will thinks he might have recognized something familiar in his eyes. Mike took a deep breath.

                “Me and El talked about it-,” Will had felt a pang, that sense of being left out, “-and we know… we can’t be open in public but… if we tell them, at least we wouldn’t have to hide in front of them, and yeah they might not understand, but their our best friends, they’ll get over it,” Mike rambled, Will was impressed by his ability to still be whispering, then his face had twisted with pain, “And we… we miss you, Will.”

                Will had momentarily stopped breathing and he ended having to buy the comic book after the deep creases he’d left in the pages. “Really?” Will breathed. Mike had frowned and risked pressing closer so that Will’s shoulder pressed into Mike’s arm.

                “Yeah, of course,” Mike replied, his voice still quiet, “It’s been rough… for both of us, and El has been a little obsessed with going through with it, but I told her we couldn’t just do that without talking to you, so… what do you think?” Will had stared up at Mike’s handsome face and took a lot of self-control not to press a kiss to one the sharp cheek bones that had revealed themselves once his baby fat melted away. In that moment he had imagined his friends turning their backs on them, telling their parents, being ostracized, or worse, by everyone around them, but he also imagines being accepted, being able to hold Mike’s hand or press a kiss to Eleven’s forehead while in the presence of his favorite people without any of them batting an eye. One scenario was much more unlikely than the other, but he ignored the part of him that told him it’s too dangerous.

                “Let’s do it,” Will agreed, his voice firm and without hesitation. Mike’s sharp shoulders had still been tense with anxiety but he grinned brightly.

                Its movie night for The Party, a tradition that developed ever since the Wheelers finally caved to Mike’s begging and purchased a family VCR for Christmas a few years back. It was a hard tradition to keep up with considering they had so few options at first. Re-watching the same 3 films every other week made it tough, so it was a god send when they were blessed to be one of the few towns in America to have a video rental store pop up. It rapidly became one of the top 5 places to look if you wanted to find group of 15 year olds. It opened them up to a much more pleasant existence where they didn’t have to watch Grease, _again_.

                They alternated who picked what they watched and tonight is Max’s night. Unsurprisingly, she goes for a horror film, “Halloween”. It’s all pretty normal. They go to the store, Lucas and Dustin quietly grumble about Max’s choice like they always do when someone picks something other than sci-fi, they pick some extra snacks, and they go to the Wheeler’s house to make their popcorn and settle in for the movie. Things as usual. But they’re not. Because this is the first movie night where The Party knows about Will, Mike, and El’s relationship.

                It’s been a few days since the surprisingly easy conversation. The Party didn’t fully understand, asking question after question, but the accepted. Despite that, Will still feared making his friends uncomfortable, careful with how touchy he was, especially with Mike. El made it clear very quickly that she wasn’t having any of that. The moment they were alone with their friends, she’d take his hand, kissed him, or leaned against him any chance she could like she was making up for lost time, and Will wasn’t unaware of the wigged out looks Lucas, Max, and Dustin would share, but he couldn’t find it in himself to deny her.

                They have run of the house while Ted and Karen are on their ‘date night’ and Holly is with one of the parents from her new school that Karen befriended. It’s the closest thing to a real date that they’ve ever had, but Will is still wary. They go to their usual spots, El and Mike squeeze into Ted’s La-Z-Boy while the others sit on the couch with the bowl of popcorn and the snacks spread out in front of them and the FBI warning begins to play. Will sits on the end of the couch closest to the La-Z-Boy. He tries to push down that familiar sense of longing and just enjoy his friends’ company, but he found himself glancing at them frequently, quietly wondering if they felt it too. Before the movie gets into full swing, Mike and El suddenly stand, grabbing Will and hefting him up from his seat, drawing the attention of the others. Will stares at them bug eyed while they push him down onto the chair. Mike squeezes in next to him, the fit a little tighter than when it had been El and Mike.

                El’s gaze is calculating as she takes in the lack of space, before she confidently plops herself down where Will and Mike’s hips are pressed together. She shifts until her legs are thrown over Will’s and the arm rest and she can lean her cheek where Mike and Will’s shoulders met. She reaches blindly over Mike and pulls the lever, springing the foot rest out. Will yelps in surprise when the chair suddenly tilts back. Mike laughs, boldly wrapping his arm around Will’s shoulders while El settles, leaning her side against them, eyes on the screen. Will meets Mike’s eyes over El’s head of curls and grins, a happy blush on his cheeks. Will’s arm is trapped and going a bit numb, so he snakes it out through the space between her and Mike’s body, wrapping it around her waist, and rests his other hand on El’s knee.

                Jamie Lee Curtis is talking on the screen and Will can feel the holes his friends are practically burning into them, but all Will can think about is the happiness bubbling up in his chest. El seems fully engrossed in the film. Will turns his head, pressing his forehead to El’s, grinning. The hand on his shoulder comes up and begins mindlessly playing with the hairs at the base of his neck. He glances up and sees that Mike has his cheek resting against the back of El’s head and his other hand is lightly scratching up and down her back through her shirt, his eyes fixed on the TV, despite the curls that must be tickling his face.

                “You love birds want a chocolate bar or you just gonna be gross all night?” Dustin asks, mouth full of popcorn, breaking their little moment. The trio look at Dustin while Max and Lucas elbow him, shooting him a sharp look. “Ow! What?!” Dustin grumbles, wrapping his arms around his ribs with a glare.

                “Have some tact, dude,” Lucas grumbles. Will laughs, holding El closer, surprising the room. El quietly laughs into her hand.

                A small smile pulls at Mike’s face and he huffs, holding his hand out towards his friends, “Give me a KitKat, dude.”


	2. A Good Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to be clear these are all just unrelated drabbles in case you're wondering why it's totally unrelated to the first one lol
> 
> Prompt: Imagine person A and B of your OT3 whispering to each other and smiling, and person C being a little jealous/annoyed until they find out that person A and B were whispering about how much they love person C.
> 
> Prompt Source: http://imagineyourot3.tumblr.com

                Will had been having a pretty good day. A new X-man comic came out, the Arcade added TWO new games, he’s been setting aside, at his mom’s urging, a small chunk of his paycheck every two weeks and he has enough for it _all_ , and all of his friends have a rare day of being available at the same time. He’s been practically vibrating with excitement all day. And it had been living up to his excitement, but then it all takes a dip.

                They’re in the arcade and Will’s eyes are trained on the metal ball bouncing around inside the machine. Max is playing Pac-Man with Dustin cheering her on while Lucas does the same for Will. Will has always loved video games, but there was something satisfying about the solid impact of the bumpers smacking the ball away from the hole. His body is tense, arched over the machine, and his fingers are beginning to ache. Lucas is grinning at him, gripping the edge of the machine excitedly, and holding himself back from doing something that might mess Will up. His score is climbing quickly and he tries not to acknowledge the fact that he’s _so close_ to beating the high score, when he hears a familiar giggle off to his left. He glances over and sees Mike and El standing a little further away. They’re standing close, El’s cheeks are pink, and Will catches Mike leaning down to whisper something into her ear.

                “Will!” Lucas calls, drawing his attention back to the machine. It’s too late, the ball slips between the bumpers while he blindly mashes the buttons. Luckily, he has a bonus ball, but Lucas’s cheering has gone quiet and he’s eyeing Will with concern. Will tries to make up for his slip, knocking the ball into the various obstacles, making lights flash and his points to jump. His eyes shift sideways without his consent. El is pulling Mike down by his collar so she can press her lips right up against his ear, making the bill of the baseball cap that her short hair is tucked into dig into the side of Mike’s head, to say something that has Mike snickering, his cheeks a similar shade of pink. He’s nodding along to whatever she’s saying.

                Mike’s eyes flick up and catch Will’s gaze, his face turns guilty and he gently nudges El to get her attention. Will looks away before she can turn and look at him, his stomach is sitting somewhere in his intestines, and his heart is aching. Lucas yells out his frustration. When Will looks, the words ‘game over’ are flashing on the strip of a screen on the backboard that displays a nondescript buff cartoon hero among a pretty galaxy. It slides off to the left and displays his score, just short of the high score. Lucas groans and drops his head against the glass of the machine.

                Will swallows the sudden tightness in his throat. He drops his hands from the sides of the machine, feigning disappointment while he attempts to convince himself that there is absolutely no way his best friends, the people he’s pretty sure he’s _in love with_ , were making fun of him behind his back. His shitty brain helpfully supplies him with every instant that he’s walked passed a group of classmates only for them to go silent then burst into giggles, suspiciously paralleling Mike and El’s behavior. Will feels sick.

                “Sorry, man,” Lucas tells him sympathetically, dropping a hand on Will’s shoulder, “Wanna try again?” Will jerks his head up, knocked out of his thoughts. He forces a tight smile on his face and shakes his head.

                “Uh, no,” Will replies lamely, “Do you want a go?”

                “No, I think I’m gonna go play BurgerTime,” Lucas replies, “Wanna watch?”

                “I, uh, think I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” Will tells him, “I’ll check it out when I’m done, if the pickle doesn’t trip you up by then.” Lucas huffs, glaring at Will and flicking him off with a small smile to soften the blow.

                “That stupid pickle,” Lucas grumbles, walking towards it while he digs into his pocket. Will feels a small genuine smile pull at his lips before it drops away, his stomach rolling uncomfortably. He turns, weaving between machines towards the bathroom but before he makes it to the small hallway containing the two bathrooms, a hand grabs his wrist. He jerks around, faced with Mike’s smiling face, El at his side. But it drops away immediately to one of concern.

                “Are you okay, Will?” he asks. El glances between the two silently, picking up on Mike’s worry, her own brows curving in a mirror image of her boyfriend’s. Will clenches his teeth tight, his traitor mind attempting to reconcile the image of what Will believed was his friends mocking him with the image of them standing in front of him, worrying about him. Will had made a promise a long time ago that he’d be more honest about how he was feeling. It was pointless to hide it most of the time anyway, Mike knows him too well, but he finds the lie rolling off his tongue anyway.

                “I’m fine,” he says, “Just… disappointed about the game.” Mike’s frown deepens and El is still carefully looking between them, keeping an eye out for those minute facial shifts she doesn’t catch quite as easily as others do. Without warning, she reaches up and takes her ball cap off, a simple navy blue, releasing her short crop of curls, and pops it on Will’s head. It’s warm and heats his ears. He and Mike stare at El in surprise. Days like this, when she leans more towards masculine attributes, she tends to keep her hair tucked away. Even with her hair curling around her ears, Will finds her handsome in her overalls, baggy long sleeve with the sleeves pushed to her elbows, and her dirty sneakers. Mike looks at her with soft eyes and takes her hand, curling their fingers together. Will bites his bottom lip, heart heavy, as he takes the opportunity to tug himself free. “I’ll be right back,” he tells them, forcing a smile.

                He pushes the men’s room door open, happy to note the emptiness of the room. He stands in front of the sink, gripping the edge of the counter to take a slow deep breath. He meets his own eyes in the mirror and frowns at what he sees. At 16, he still has a baby face while his friends seem so much more adult than him already, he’s never been able to shake the dark bags under his eyes, and he can see sharp collar bones where they’re poking out from the neck of his shirt, betraying the scrawniness that his clothes conceal. His eyes flick to the hat on his head, taking it off, and staring down at it. He runs his thumbs over the bill with a sigh, feeling like a fool. He pops it back on his head and splashes some water in his face. He wipes his face dry with a paper towel and walks back out, surprised to find El still standing where he’d left her, without Mike by her side.

                “El?” he asks. She looks over at him as he approaches and abruptly takes his hand.

                “Come,” she says, tugging his arm gently. Will frowns but follows after her.

                “Is something wrong?” he asks. He spots Mike talking to Lucas, Max, and Dustin where Lucas is still playing BurgerTime. She pushes the door open, revealing the bright light of the afternoon sun, a stark contrast to the dim lighting of the arcade. They flinch away from the sudden change in lighting, but El doesn’t stop, leading him to a more secluded spot on the side of the building. She doesn’t let go of his hand when they come to a stop and she turns to him. “El?” he asks again.

                “Why were you sad?” she asks bluntly. Will flushes and stammers. She takes his other hand in a tight grip. “Mike says you seemed sad, why? You were happy before.”

                “It’s just… um,” Will mumbles, futilely searching for a lie before sighing, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “I saw you and Mike talking and… I thought you were talking about _me_ ,” he admits, shaking his head, “I was just being dumb.”

                “You’re _not_ dumb,” El disagrees firmly, then frowns in confusion, “We _were_ talking about you.” Will’s stomach drops all over again.

                “Oh.” Will stares down at his feet, pushing down his nausea. El squeezes Will’s hands, still looking confused.

                “Is that… bad?” El asks, genuinely curious. Will laughs weakly.

                “I guess it depends,” he says honestly with a shrug, his hands slack in El’s grip. El appears thoughtful for a moment.

                “We were talking about how nice you looked,” El tells him bluntly, Will’s head jerks up to stare at her, “We were happy seeing you so happy, you’re so stressed all the time….” Will huffs a laugh, dropping his head back, feeling like a complete idiot. “You looked so pretty,” El mumbles quietly next, Will looks at her, his cheeks darkening, “You were so focused… it was cute.” Will doesn’t know what to say or feel. His brain is working overtime, trying to shut down the hope bubbling up in him. El opens her mouth to say something else but there are footsteps approaching.

                Mike walks around the corner and freezes when he spots the two of them. Will feels the urge to tug his hands free and take a step away from his best friend’s girlfriend but her grip is tight. Mike takes in their appearances and his cheeks go red, his face scrunching up with embarrassment. “She told you,” Mike says, voice strained, taking a step closer “Oh god, Will, I’m so sorry.”

                “Why are you sorry?” El asks Mike, “We said nice things.” Mike drops his face into his hands with a groan.

                “People don’t usually want to hear about their friends wanting to make out with them, El,” Mike grumbles. Will’s eyes widen.

                “I didn’t tell him that part,” El explains simply. Will isn’t sure he’s breathing, but it doesn’t look like Mike is either.

                “Oh _shit_ , Will I’m so so sorry I _knew_ we were being too obvious I totally understand if you never want to speak to me again just please don’t tell anyone,” Mike rambles off without taking a breath, looking on the verge of a full blown panic attack, “I know that’s shitty, but, _fuck_ , my dad will kick me out and-.” El and Will move in tandem, crowding around Mike’s lanky frame and wrapping their arms around him.

                “it’s okay, Mike,” Will reassures him quietly, rubbing Mike’s back soothing, “I’m not going to tell anyone.” He can hear El quietly shushing him and Mike taking deep breaths. Will pulls away and looks up at Mike’s shame ridden expression. He reaches up and cups Mike’s face, his heart pounding against his ribs. He takes a quick peek over Mike’s shoulder, checking for people, before guiding Mike down, pressing a soft kiss to Mike’s lips. “Was that… okay?” he asks nervously, glancing between El, whose eyes are wide and excited, and Mike, who appears dazed and flushed.

                “Yeah,” Mike mumbles, still sounding out of it. El grabs Will’s upper arms and impatiently hip checks Mike out of the way. He grumbles but steps aside. Will blushes and grins bashfully while El looks at him expectantly. He cups her cheeks gently and leans in to give her a soft kiss of her own. When he pulls away, she’s grinning up at him. Mike clears his throat nervously, a smile pulling at his lips. “So… do you… want to go get some lunch with us?” Mike asks, scrubbing a nervous hand over the back of his neck.

                “Are you… asking me on a date?” Will asks.

                “Yes,” El answers for her boyfriend, taking Will’s hand.

                “What about the others?” Will asks with a frown, glancing at the entrance of the arcade as El tugs him back out of their hiding spot.

                “Um, wait here,” Mike says, turning around and bolting into the arcade. Will laughs and turns to El, taking the cap off his head and puts it back on her, carefully tucking her hair back into it the way she likes. El smiles up at him and hugs him tight.

                “We’re so weird,” Will mumbles, a smile in his voice, like it’s an inside joke. It sort of is. El laughs happily.

                “Did you think we’d grow out of it?” she asks incredulously. Will squeezes her tighter.

                “Good point,” he chuckles. A moment later Mike appears looking slightly out of a breath and he looks at the image the two make with wonder.

                “We’re good to go,” Mike tells them, walking towards their chained up bikes. Will helps El undo her lock and the three hop on their own bikes, heading for the diner down the road.

                “What did you tell them?” Will asks curiously while El bikes up ahead of them, weaving her bike back and forth in an effortless way she couldn’t do just a few months ago.

                “I might have bribed them with the rest of my quarters,” Mike admits with a shrug. Will reaches over the space between them and squeezes Mike’s hand where it’s gripping the handlebar. Mike goes pink and gives him a shy smile. Yeah. He’s having a pretty good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so cheesy but whatever.
> 
> Also! If you have any sort of prompt ideas for them, I'd really appreciate them! I'm just filling prompts I find and I'm looking for more!


End file.
